Marlins 5, Astros 0: Happ takes league lead in losses after another walk on the wild side

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Unfortunately for Happ, he’s in the major leagues, not a playpen or playground.

The small steps forward aren’t enough to keep up with the competition. The tentative steps backward have Happ looking lost and confused. Another scatter-armed performance by Happ on Thursday night at Sun Life Stadium sent the Astros on their way to a 5-0 loss to the Florida Marlins.

With five runs allowed in 52⁄3 innings, Happ took sole possession of the National League lead with 11 losses. Happ’s ERA soared to 5.76, making him last among the 61 NL qualifiers.

He’ll have time to ponder his lot in life and how to improve it, too, because the All-Star break begins Monday.

“To be honest with you, I don’t even want a break,” Happ said. “If I could, I’d pitch tomorrow. Just try to get out there and keep us in the game and try to win some ballgames.”

The fruits of Happ’s latest labor was a truly creative pitching line for a crowd of 17,806 to behold: five hits, five earned runs, seven walks, eight strikeouts. The last major leaguer to work more than five innings while allowing at least five hits and five earned runs with at least seven walks and eight strikeouts was Roger Clemens on July 18, 1989.

Nearly 5 walks per game

Happ (3-11), who entered the season with a 19-9 career record, is winless in his past 10 starts. He is walking 4.77 batters per nine innings.

“It’s been a struggle all year long with that,” Happ said. “I’m not going to let it break me, definitely. I’m going to keep working, doing everything I can do. But it’s frustrating right now.”

Astros hitters were in no position to take any bows, either. Marlins rookie lefthander Brad Hand (1-3) two-hit the Astros for seven innings to pick up his first major league victory. Hand, making his fifth major league start, didn’t allow a hit until Clint Barmes’ one-out single in the fifth.

As recently as June 22 and 27, Hand was losing back-to-back starts at Class A and AA (102⁄3 innings pitched, 11 earned runs). Hand had allowed 12 walks and six home runs in 19 major league innings before running into the Astros. After the game, the Marlins optioned Hand to Class AA Jacksonville.

“I would like to say we had a good approach, and it just didn’t happen,” Astros left fielder Jason Michaels said. “It’s one of those games you can’t think too much into it.”

Happ managed to be wildly semi-effective for a while. He worked around a couple of walks to keep the Marlins scoreless in the first inning, putting one bugaboo on hold at least temporarily. In his previous 17 starts, Happ had allowed 17 runs (15 earned) in the first inning. After a leadoff walk to Mike Cameron in the second, though, Mike Stanton hit a two-run homer.

Catcher lends support

“He doesn’t have any luck this year,” Astros catcher Humberto Quintero said. “He used all the pitches. He threw really good. Some years, you try to do your best and nothing happens. But I think he’s going to be good.”

The score was 2-0 when Emilio Bonifacio led off the fifth with a broken-bat single. With two outs and Bonifacio on second, Astros manager Brad Mills opted to intentionally walk Hanley Ramirez. Logan Morrison made Happ pay a price, delivering a two-run double that was just out of the diving reach of Michaels.

“Maybe if I’d started a half a step to my right,” Michaels said. “What are you going to do? Short-term memory.”

One of the chief Astros imperatives is to figure out how to get Happ, who came in the trade that sent Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia, back to his winning ways. Maybe the break will allow Happ to, as Mills put it, “clear his head.”

“But at the same time, we’re going to continue to work and try to get things better,” Mills said.

“We’re not going to just leave him alone. He wants to get better, too. We’re going to find ways to do that.”